RZA praises Paul Walker

05 May 2014

Newsdesk

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RZA is grateful he got the chance to star alongside Paul Walker.

The Wu-Tang Clan member has progressed from a successful music career to becoming a prominent figure in the movie world, taking on acting, directing and producing duties as well as contributing to various soundtracks.

His latest project, Brick Mansions, was one of Paul Walker's last movies to be shot before his untimely death from a car accident in November last year.

"He was great [Paul]," RZA smiled to British magazine ShortList. "It's a small comfort that we can see him in films and look at his smile and his energy. I'm happy to be a person that broke bread with him. We both played guitar, we had that in common. "

The movie tells the story of an undercover cop's quest to bring down a crime lord with the help of an ex-con.

RZA's films often tick the action genre, with his 2012 directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists steeped in violence. Despite being his first experience helming a movie, the 44-year-old star felt he was destined for the job.

"I feel I'm a natural director. Being a producer all these years has prepared me. And I had a master actor in Russell Crowe and a very established and focused actor in Lucy Liu. To me a director is like the general of an army, and I think that I was able to rise to that occasion," he explained.

RZA counts Quentin Tarantino as his mentor, and bestows on him the title of "grandmaster".

He's also a long-term fan of Bill Murray, getting to know him after the pair worked together in 2003 feature Coffee and Cigarettes.

"What a funny dude, just a great man. He was cool, funny and informative. We went out for sushi one day, he told me, 'No, you don't hold your chopsticks like that!' He had just done Lost in Translation, so he had total knowledge of all the proper ways of how to eat Japanese food. He was not shy to correct. He kept correcting me."